I'm starting this blog so I can share my life experiences on herps with those out there who LOVE them as much as I do! I've been around animals all my life especially reptiles and haven't yet come across one I couldn't tame. My friends have jokingly named me "The Reptile Whisperer" and it rightly suits me!

Friday, October 16, 2009

This is a tour of my house full of reptiles! We will start at the top of my house and work our way down.

This is my bedroom where I keep Rex (rescued Oustalet's chameleon). Below his cage is a towel/area where I administer medication and clean his skin with Betadine. You will see his carrier is the container with the turquoise lid which I put him in to take him to the vet. Next to this is his spray bottle that I use to mist him and on the towel is a measuring cup I fill with water to hand water him with a syringe. He is kept here with the door closed away from all my other reptiles because he has multiple fungal infections.

Next is my son's bedroom with his pet reptiles. First is Master Toledo (rescued Corn snake). He is kept in very sterile/easy to clean conditions until he is recovered. My son can't wait till then because he really wants to decorate his cage:)

Next in my son's room is Chad (Grays tree frog). I caught Chad 2 1/2 years ago outside my in-laws house in Ohio.

Last in my son's room is Necrid (White Lined gecko). Necrid is also 2 1/2 years old and the first baby White Lined gecko I ever hatched out from my pair of White Lined geckos( Mr& Mrs Stripe).

This is my upstairs hallway where Michelangelo (Midland painted turtle) is kept. Michelangelo was caught in Virginia as a baby and is 10 years old.

This is my living room where Emeril & Jade (Emerald tree monitors) are kept. They are both under a year old and soon will need a custom built cage at least 6 ft tall(one of my current projects). Below them is their spray bottle and one of my incubators filled with eggs! Sitting on the couch next to them is my daughter. Above and on their cage is 2 digital temp gages and a digital humidity gage. They also have foil across the top to trap in heat and humidity and 2 basking and 2 UV lights.

This is my basement where I keep most of my reptiles. This is one end.

This is the other end.

On the top shelf are 5 chameleon cages. From left to right: Anastasia, 1 year old(female Oustalet's chameleon), Mystique, had for 1 year(rescued Veiled chameleon), Wolverine, had for over a year (rescued Veiled chameleon), Smeagol, had for 6 months(rescued Veiled chameleon), 1 1/2 month old baby Veiled chameleons. Bottom row from left to right: Baby(hatchling) rescued alligators, Mrs Stripe, had for 4 years(White Lined gecko), Daisy, had for 4 months(Axolotl), Andy, 5 months old(rescued baby Savannah monitor).

This is my corner/work station:) All my supplements, crested gecko diet, shed ease, water conditioner, fruit fly cultures and bottled water are on the window sill. On the desk is a rescued baby Chinese Fire bellied Newt (had for 3 months) and a picture of my Cuban Knight anoles. On the wall is a dry erase board with all my reptiles and what they eat and how much they eat weekly. The other is a dry erase calendar with dates of hatching, laying, vet appointments, start and finish of medications, supplementation dates and when I check reptile eggs. I also put on there any important dates relating to reptiles or events I have scheduled about reptiles. Below the calendar is a bag full of my daughter's snake's sheds to keep track of his growth. In my desk and on the side shelves are reptile magazines and books. I also keep records of my reptiles, rescued reptiles and research in my notebook and any other paper work related to reptiles. On the side that you cannot see is where I keep UV lights, basking bulbs and hatchrite. In the closet next to the desk(not pictured) is where I keep spare cages, reptile supplies and my egg laying bin/trashcan for the chameleons.

On this wall are my Crested gecko bins. Some are rescues and some are not, ages ranging from 9 years to 8 months old. Each bin has 1 adult/juvie crested gecko in it. These are the equivalent of a 15-20 gallon tank. They have holes drilled all the way around the top, a cave/shelf, egg laying box(for the females), leafy vines and lined with newspaper for easy clean up. Each lid is marked with that geckos name. On top of these bins are their babies kept in small kritter keepers. In each kritter keeper are leafy vines and lined with paper towel or newspaper. Usually there are 2 baby crested geckos in each one as there are 2 babies in a clutch. Next to this is my Cuban Knight anole cage, ages 4 1/2 years. This tank is decorated with live plants and a lighted waterfall. Above their cage is my lizard playground:) This vine and plant are hung from my ceiling and all the aboreal lizards I have love to climb on it. Next to the Cuban Knight anole cage is a plastic container full of Crested gecko eggs in Hatchrite. Next to them is the bag I use to dust insects and feeding tongs. On the floor next to this is my cricket bin where I store live crickets and gut load them tons of good fruit and veggies. Under the table is first my lobster roach tank and then my superworm kritter keeper where these are also gut loaded before feeding. The full bathroom(next to this on the right not pictured) is where I clean cages and keep medications that can be kept at room temps. I also keep my reptile scale, syringes and extra feeding bowls in there.

From left to right on the top: Ariel & Sebastian (Tokay geckos) one was rescued, over a year old and the other I've had for 6 months, Mr Stripe, had for 4 years (White Lined gecko), Gambit & Rogue, had for 1 year(Giant day geckos). On the bottom is Blue, had for 5 months (rescued Blue Tongue skink). On the floor to the left is my sprayer I use to water the reptiles in the basement.

On this wall is a small tank with a rescued baby(hatchling) Yellow Bellied slider turtle. Under his tank is a heated kritter keeper I had to dry dock him in because he had shell rot. Next to it is the silver sulfa ointment I had to use on his shell. In the corner is a young male Oustalet's chameleon, 1 year old I haven't named yet. Behind the dark leather chair is a room humidifier I keep running down there for all my humid loving herps!

I always get in new rescues so my collection is always changing as new ones come and old ones get adopted out.

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About Me

I was born in Miami, Fl and started catching herps at the age of 5. That was about 25 years ago and I have been keeping, rescuing and breeding them ever since. All my pets are tame, which you can see in the videos on my YouTube channel. Some people say I have a way with animals as I haven't come across anything yet I couldn't tame down. (I have a lot of patience and I'm good at reading reptiles) For this my friends and family have nick named me "The Reptile Whisperer". I currently have 50+ herps, some of which came from the reptile rescue I used to work for. Most are tropical aboreal species (mainly lizards). My current breeding projects are Cuban Knight anoles, Tokay geckos, White lined geckos, Giant day geckos, Crested geckos, Veiled chameleons, Oustalet's chameleons, Green tree monitors and Blue tree monitors. Plans for the future is to become a Herpetologist:)